Welcome to the Ampersand Blog

The peeps at Kel & Partners have a lot to say. After all we are public relations and social media zealots who thrive on sharing interesting news and great stories with the public. The Ampersand Blog is really the voice of our Peeps – the kick-ass team of people that work at K&P. Whether it’s a story about the way PR works NOW, the social media universe, our families, beloved pets or quirky travel experiences, you’ll find it all right here. You may laugh, you may cry, but the best part is you’ll leave feeling “wicked smaht” as we like to say here in Boston.

Archive for December, 2011

Pinteresting…..

pin·ter·est (n.):

A fun reminder of the clothes I ill never afford/fit into, the home décor I will never afford/fit into our small home, the recipes and crafts I am too lazy to ever make, the saying I wasn’t clever enough to think of on my own, the photos I wish I had taken but didn’t.

If you haven’t yet heard of Pinterest, the virtual bulletin board phenomenon taking the Internet by storm, you soon will. The food… the party planning… the crafts… Pinterest is slowly taking over my life (but I love it). And I’m not alone in my obsession.

The site, which launched in March 2010, is still invite-only and yet has managed to rack up over 4 million active users according to its Facebook page. If that’s not proof of an emerging social network, I don’t know what is.

For those of you who have yet to discover the addictive power of Pinterest, here’s the 411:

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that allows you to organize and share all the inspriational things you find on the web.

You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes.

A pin is an image added to Pinterest.

A pin can be added from a website using the Pin It button, or you can upload images from your computer.

Each pin added using the Pin It button links back to the site it came from.

A board is a set of pins.

A board can be created on any topic, such as My Style, Recipes For Dinner, or Wishlist.

You can add as many pins to a board as you want.

My personal Pinterest repertoire ranges from places/countries I want to visit, sassy manicure designs, and even a board of inspiration for my future tattoo (if I’m ever ballsy enough to get one).

So whether you want to create a board on crafty DIY projects you find online, or you want to plan your imaginary wedding, I highly recommend checking out Pinterest and requesting an invite ASAP…. Or ask me for an invite! I’m more than happy to help out a future pin-oholic!

Hanukkah Ham

Happy Hanukkah!

Sometimes people have weird holiday traditions, but you cherish them because they are traditions. One of the traditions in my family is to have a ham at Hanukkah time.

I know what you are thinking, “I thought Jews don’t eat ham?” and you would be correct. Kosher-eating Jews do not consume ham. My family, on the other hand, definitely does not keep kosher, hence the Hanukkah Ham.

A few years ago, my father decided he wanted to have a ham at our family Hanukkah party and so we did. Out of that strange (and oh-so-not-kosher) craving, a tradition was created. Obviously, ham wasn’t the only delicacy on the menu. We also had the more traditional and kosher potato latkes (my favorite!), and some delicious Kugel, as well as other munchies and lots of wine! And the desserts! Yummmm!

But this ham thing, it has garnered some pretty interesting controversy among those who hear about our little tradition. My family has never pretended to be hard-core celebrates of the Jewish faith. We have all had Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s and (some of us) go to Synagogue on the High Holy Days, but other than that, we’re pretty agnostic. But on Jewish tradition alone, are we not allowed to indulge in non-kosher foods during holidays?

A look at the Finn Family Hanukkah Party Menu.

Top: Potato Latkes Middle: Hanukkah Ham Bottom: Kugel Right: Wine

What are your thoughts? Would you indulge in some Hanukkah Ham if you had the opportunity? Do you have any strange Holiday traditions?

Santa Has Elves, You Have Social Media

With the holiday season upon us, it is crunch time for most when it comes to holiday shopping. When you consider the amount of time you spend on Facebook, Twitter, and foursquare why not use your favorite social media sites to help cross everyone off your holiday shopping list?

It can be as easy as following the brand names you know your best friend likes on Twitter to see what is hot and new for the holiday season, to get some “giftspiration”, or getting a gift card to the bar your brother is the mayor of on foursquare. A lot of stores are also giving great coupons and discounts once you “like”,” follow”, or “check in” at a particular spot!

It’s super easy to “like” a page on Facebook, but did you know that a lot of pages give exclusive savings and giveaways to their Facebook fans? Check the home pages of your favorite stores /brands and look for a link to their Facebook page. “Like” them, and you could get your brand name gifts for less!

Not sure how to find the best deals on Twitter? A quick search on popular hashtags such as #deals and #coupons will show you what discounts other people are sharing and talking about. For more, just follow the professional deal seekers! A few of my favorites are @CouponTweet, @retailmenot, and @FabulousSavings.

When it comes to foursquare, all you have to do is look up the specials near your location, check in, and reap the rewards! You will find anything from a discount off your purchase to freebies!

By using these social media sites you can save time and money (which we all know is the goal throughout the holiday season!). With the help of social media there is no need to get involved with the masses of people doing their last minute holiday shopping, you can get everything done right from home ( you are more than likely going to be on these sites throughout the day anyway, right? )

When it is time to open gifts you can sit back and relax while everyone receives exactly what they wanted! Santa may have elves, but you have social media ☺

Klout, schmout

In the last few weeks, there’s been a lot of negative backlash directed at Klout, based on an algorithm change that caused a lot of people’s scores to plummet. As for me, I’ve been a skeptic since I got my first Klout score. Now, I’m no Ashton Kutcher (gratefully) but I’ve been on Twitter for nearly 4 years and consider myself something of a Twitterholic. Imagine my surprise when I got my Klout score -– a meager 30- – and learned that I’m considered “influential” about…real estate?

Real estate? A happy renter that’s never even been to an open-house, I can’t imagine in what universe I’d be considered knowledgeable on the subject, let alone influential. (Editorial side note – a recent check of my Klout score now has me influential about PR, family and Massachusetts…perhaps thanks to those recent algorithm changes? More info in this article from Adweek: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/klout-faces-foes-136721)

As our collective consciousness has evolved past the “my follower/friend count defines my SM self worth” stage of evolution (see posts from Ginny Pitcher and Chris Brogan for more on that), I think we all look for some metrics that will define our status as “rock star.” (I’ve always been a fan of HubSpot’s continuously evolving Twitter Grader –- perhaps because it gives me an A+?) Tools like Klout can either be validation, or useful for those starting out to figure out if they’re “doing it right.” I’m not so sure that Klout is an effective tool for either of those situations.

With the advent of +Ks, I think there’s a chance that Klout’s “influencer” metrics may be improved by some user-generated control. While the site is still technically in beta, I’ll look to see continued improvement that makes what they’re measuring more meaningful. I wonder if by the time they get there, though, anyone will consider it so.